With the expectation that the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers will soon be moving to Winnipeg — just “a matter of time” is how that city’s mayor, Sam Katz, described the anticipated migration Friday — the inevitable question arose about how players would react to moving to a place some, at least those who have never been there, might consider a hinterland.

Rather than blanch at the idea, several of the Bruins involved in the Eastern Conference final, playing out in the sunny climes of Florida, thought the move would be enthusiastically received by their brethren.

“You’ll get players who would love to play in a Canadian city. I was lucky enough to play in Calgary and the opportunity in your career to play in Canada is a very special thing,” said defenceman Andrew Ference, who grew up in Edmonton.

“You’re on Hockey Night in Canada. You’re on the front page of the papers. You’re around people in your community that absolutely love the sport and there’s tremendous support for you. There are some guys that will seek that out and love it. There are (other) guys that don’t like pressure; those are usually guys that don’t play in the playoffs too much either.”

Milan Lucic, the hard-hitting Bruin, seemed absolutely giddy at the prospect of the NHL returning to Manitoba, saying “all of Canada is excited.”

And, he believes, so are NHL players. He said most players want to be in market that is passionate about the game.

“Where people care, where it’s exciting to go to the rink. Where there is a rivalry game and everything is sold out. Everyone is on their feet, there’s that buzz . . . that makes it better as a hockey player even if there is that cold climate or whatever,” he said.

Both Ference and Lucic believe the overriding concern for most free agents when assessing where to collect their millions is finding a franchise that will give them the best chance to win, and a young Thrashers squad, under the direction of widely respected coach Craig Ramsay, appears headed in the right direction.

“Being on a successful team will be the biggest lure and overriding factor for any player,” said Ference. “If you can choose between (having the choice of) a good restaurant and winning, I think you can make a blanket statement that most guys will choose winning.”

True North Sports and Entertainment, a group headed by billionaire David Thomson and partner Mark Chipman, has been negotiating with the Thrashers for at least a week. While an announcement of the sale is expected within days, Ken Campbell of The Hockey News reports that the NHL and the Atlanta Spirit Group are still haggling over how much the current owner should give the league as a relocation fee.

Once the details get ironed out, those most familiar with Winnipeg as a hockey market think this team will be much more successful than the version of the Jets that departed for Phoenix in 1996.

“The support is there. The economy is different than it was. You’ve got the building in place and they’ve got a great ownership group that knows how to run things successfully,” said defenceman Shane Hnidy, who is from Manitoba and makes his off-season home in Winnipeg.

“Anybody that’s played on the (AHL’s Winnipeg-based) Moose had nothing but great things to say about it. Guys love playing there. Most of the negative stuff that comes out is from people who aren’t familiar with the area.”

Bruins goaltending coach Bob Essensa, who played for the Jets from 1988 to 1994, said that time in Winnipeg was his most enjoyable in hockey because the players and the community became intertwined.

“There’s something to be said for those small-town Canadian teams that the players and the community really rally around,” he said. “They don’t have maybe as many distractions as a big American city. From that standpoint, you’re focused on hockey, you’re focused on your teammates and I think the team and the city is better off because of it.”

But will players go there if they have other alternatives?

“It’s tough to say. Certainly, with salary caps and whatnot, if I’m getting ‘x’ amount of dollars in Tampa and the same amount of money in Winnipeg, maybe I’m leaning toward going to Tampa but, like I said, I think there’s a quality to playing to Winnipeg that can’t be matched anywhere else.”